The present invention relates to an image forming material and a production method of the same, and an image forming apparatus, and more specifically, to an image forming material having image information and information at the image formation, a production method of the same, and an image forming apparatus.
Conventionally, recording methods are known in which light energy such as laser beams, etc. is focused and exposed onto a recording material to melt-deform a part of the recording material, or scatter, burn or evaporate-remove the same. These exhibit advantages such as a dry process which needs no processing solution such as a chemical solution, etc., and high contrast is obtained because only the light exposed part is scattered, burned or evaporate removed, and are utilized in optical recording materials such as resist materials, optical disks, etc., image forming materials which make themselves visible images, etc. Hereunder, these image forming methods are defined as ablation.
An image forming method employing the ablation is different from a thermally fusible type transfer image forming method in the following aspects. It is characterized in that the thermally fusible type transfer image forming method, on a support, is provided an image forming layer comprising a thermoplastic resin, wax, etc. having thermosoftening properties at relatively low temperatures, that is, a low melting point and a low softening point along with a colorant, and this image forming layer is heated imagewise directly or indirectly via a support, etc. to a temperature higher than the above-mentioned melting point and softening point to transfer only the melted part onto an image receiving sheet, while decreasing a bonding force between the support and the image forming layer. In this case, when the heated part of the image forming layer is cooled prior to transfer, reversible thermal properties are changed. Contrary to this, the image forming method employing ablation is clearly classified in terms of accompanying irreversible destruction of an image forming layer and accompanied deformation.
Examples of image forming methods employing ablation include methods, in which a resist pattern is formed upon photo-decomposing a binder resin subjected to a pattern exposure and the material thereof, described in Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection Nos. 59-5447, 59-105638, 62-115153, etc.; information recording in which a thin inorganic layer provided by an evaporation method is subjected to exposure to melt deform the layer, described in Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection Nos. 55-132536, 57-27788, 57-103137, etc.; materials to record information by removing a tinted binder layer employing light-heat conversion, described in Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection Nos. 64-56591, 1-99887, 6-40163, etc.; and image forming materials having an image forming layer comprising graphite or carbon black. Furthermore, image forming materials provided with an image forming layer comprising, as an indispensable component, a binder which can be decomposed by light heat conversion material which converts to heat energy upon absorbing laser beams are described in Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection under PCT Application No. 4-506709, Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection No. 6-43635, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,156,938, 5,171,650, 5,256,506, etc., and of these, those disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection under PCT Application No. 4-506709, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,156,938, 5,171,650, and 5,256,506 are in which an image forming layer in which the binder resin is decomposed and scattered is received employing a member to be transferred.
However, when conventional ablation materials are employed, the operator should respectively write in the ablation material or other recording medium, at storage, the type of image data employed by a material subjected to image formation and accompanied information to the image data at image formation, etc. When the record is made on the ablation material directly, it is necessary to provide a layer suitable for writing or recording additionally, or to provide a recording portion specifically.
In case that the ablation recording material is provided, before the exposure, with a peelable layer which is released after exposure to remove the exposed portion of the image forming material when an image is formed by removing the image forming layer at exposed portion, another problem has been arisen. That is, since the whole surface of the ablation material is the image forming area, the area is so broad that binding force between the support and image forming layer is reduced when the whole surface is exposed. In case that the ablation material is wound up on a drum and the ablation material is exposed by laser light etc. on the rotating drum, the peelable layer and the exposed portion of the image forming layer are removed during the drum rotation.
An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming method which enables to record the type of the image data employed for the image formation or an accompanying information concerning to the image data, and later to recognize the type of image data employed by a material subjected to image formation without providing recording layer or recording portion suitable to recording or writing specifically.
The other object is to provide an image forming method which enables to record data effectively and to prevent the peelable layer peeling off during the rotation of the drum in case that the exposed portion of the image forming layer is removed by providing a peelable layer before exposure and releasing the peelable layer after exposure when image is formed by removing the image forming layer at the exposed portion.
The present invention and preferable embodiments will be described below.
The image forming method comprises steps of;
exposing image forming area of a recording material comprising, provided on a support, an image forming layer which contains colorant particles dispersed into a binder, with high intensity energy light imagewisely,
removing the exposed portion of the image forming layer to form an image, recording a magnetic information on the image forming layer at non-image-forming area of the recording material.
In this method the colorant particles are ferromagnetic powder having not less than 100 Oe, content of the colorant particles contained in the above-mentioned image forming layer are between 20 and 90 weight percent and the layer thickness of the image forming layer is between 0.1 and 3.0 xcexcm.
The recording material comprises a peelable layer and the exposed portion of the image forming layer is removed by releasing the peelable layer after exposing with intensity energy light.
The recording material is wind on a drum and exposing image forming area of the recording material with high intensity energy light is conducted at the time of the drum rotates.
The circumference speed of the rotating drum is preferably not less than 10 m/sec at image exposing.
The recording material preferably comprises a protective layer, provided on the image forming layer, having a thickness of 0.05-1.0 xcexcm.
The surface roughness of the protective layer is preferably 0.1-0.05 xcexcm.
The surface roughness of the recording material is preferably 0.005-0.05 xcexcm.
The image forming material is preferably subjected to orientation treatment after providing the image forming layer during the preparation.
The orientation treatment is preferably a non-orientation treatment.